Isaac Hempstead-Wright talks Bran Stark, the Red Wedding, and more

Isaac Hempstead-Wright recently spoke with Reveal.Co.Uk at a press junket for the Game of Thrones Season 3 DVD release.

Isaac discusses his character Bran Stark, and why he hasn’t become as hardened as his sister Arya. He also reveals what it’s like on set after losing fellow castmates, and that sometimes the writers play jokes with the scripts.

On Bran
“I think Bran has an interesting storyline in as far as he delves into the mystical elements of the show. The show is great about not being so completely unrealistic. With the magic, it’s almost like in our world, where most of the characters are as skeptical as we would be. It’s nice to be one of the little elements tapping at the magic door and you never really know what will happen with it.”

On why Bran hasn’t hardened as much as Arya from series one to now
“I think because Bran is so totally reliant on other people he can’t afford to be the Arya type of, ‘I don’t trust anyone, I want to kill everyone.’ He has to place his faith in other people and has to be a vulnerable, I’ll take your word for it kid. He has also grown up, in a sense, that he can’t really be absolutely trusting because half his family have been slaughtered through being too trusting. I think in seasons to come he’ll start to take on a bit more responsibility for himself.”

On whether he wishes Bran could be more of a fighter
“I always kind of wished I could be a sword fighter and stabby like Arya, but with Bran I feel that while he might not be the most exciting character for some, he’s a true character in the sense that he is disabled and there is nothing he can do about it. I think that in itself is an interesting obstacle to overcome just as much as an enemy with a sword.”

On what he’s learned from his character
“You can realise that you might be being a bit petty about something one day and then you look at Game of Thrones and think, these people are really suffering. Even though it’s fantasy and fictional, it’s not that far away from the truth around the world. There are plenty of people suffering similar horrendous fates and it makes you think, ‘I’m sitting here in this wonderful film set, extremely lucky, but not that far away there are people suffering hugely.'”

On the Red Wedding and atmosphere on set after characters die
“I think we all knew it would happen. [Exec producers] David and Dan especially knew they would have to kill off some of their favourite characters. For me, it was more about losing two people we’d been working with for four years and having fun with, and knowing we wouldn’t see them again in this context. Everyone says the first thing they do when they get a script is flick through it to make sure they aren’t dead. Dan and David play jokes with the script. Alfie (Allen, who plays Theon) once got sent a script where I jump out and stab him and kill him. He sent me a text saying, ‘You killed me!’ It was just a joke though.”

For more from Isaac, including what it has been like to grow up on set, and whether he’ll continue acting after Thrones, visit Reveal.Co.Uk!

If I hear about that script joke with Alfie Allen again, I’m gonna’ go full Ramsay on someone! Is that the ONLY joke they made? because it’s the only one we’ve been hearing for the last couple of …years!!

They pranked Gwen in season 3 with a fake newspaper article and in season 1 they played on Kit’s youthful good looks by writing the wight-burning scene with a moment where his face catches fire and melts. But I get what you mean, “would you like to be a naked zombie?” is well-past it’s original relevance, and it’s hardly comedy gold either. They should prank Kate Dickie this season by putting a trampoline under the Moon Door. That would be cool.

Summer is Coming:
If I hear about that script joke with Alfie Allen again, I’m gonna’ go full Ramsay on someone! Is that the ONLY joke they made? because it’s the only one we’ve been hearing for the last couple of …years!!

VaguelyRelevantNewsBringer strikes again… Surely all of these “Actor X talks about the Red Wedding” interviews could have been summarised in one post? We’ll have seen a separate interview from every cast member by the end of the week!

Tywin’s Bastard: VaguelyRelevantNewsBringer strikes again… Surely all of these “Actor X talks about the Red Wedding” interviews could have been summarised in one post? We’ll have seen a separate interview from every cast member by the end of the week!

please, it’s important for the survival of this site tbh, there’s less and less comments on each one of these

To be fair, WiC/Phil would admittedly spread out articles through the week if there wasn’t much news to report. I’m just glad LB is posting anything at all. Not every post needs to be relevant to your interest. They sure aren’t for me. Such ingrates…

The comments section has been toxic for some years now. I shouldn’t be surprised.

Yep – I remember when people actually posted to discuss the articles/show/story and weren’t totally negative all the time – these new book readers/posters think they are intellectual and/or funny but they are so booooooring-

If I remember correctly, the article talkd about how she was terrible to her fans and that she told one of them to fuck off when they asked for an autograph (or something to that affect.) They showed the article to her and said “Gwen, is this true?” And she was really stuned and was like “No!” and was going to call her agent about it. In one version of the story, I think they said they got the idea because Gwen told them about a real awkward moment she had with a fan, and they kinda pretented that some news source had blown that moment up into a big deal.

“With Bran I feel that while he might not be the most exciting character for some, he’s a true character in the sense that he is disabled and there is nothing he can do about it. I think that in itself is an interesting obstacle to overcome just as much as an enemy with a sword.”

As much as I like Isaac, the character he plays is so boring. Bran’s is the only story I truly wish I could skip when reading; Dany is close but she does take her clothes off an awful lot. If Bran turns out to be some saviour of Westeros, I am going to be so unhappy.

I just went through most of the commentaries of S3. The cast and directors were all praising him whenever he was on screen. Looking forward to see his performance this year.
Also there was a funny story. In the scene where he had to shoot the three eyed raven, he pierced a lighting balloon floating in the the air. Apparently Isaac’s a marksman in real life.

Azzy Mahmood: Dany is close but she does take her clothes off an awful lot. If Bran turns out to be some saviour of Westeros, I am going to be so unhappy.

I couldn’t disagree more – my biggest hope for the series actually is that Bran is Ice and Dany is Fire, and together they are the saviors of Westeros (NOTE: I am not advocating a relationship between them!). I kind of view all the political bullshit as just that. More of the same, p0intless, backstabbing drudgery until the real story starts.

I would honestly love for all the “who needs magic” fans to be proven wrong… ;)

I agree with Isaac when he says Bran introduces us to the more mystical elements of the story, especially where it touches on religion, skin-changing and supernatural forces. I believe it will play a big role in tWoW. Sure, there’s not as much character development with Bran as there is with Arya, but nonetheless his aDwD chapters were interesting and creepy. There is a reason why Bran will be able to see to the future and the past through the Weirnet. One of the important reasons why he is also currently in the position he is in, is that he will guide Jon as a warg to stop him from losing his identity as a man and completely become a wolf. It is also an adequate way of showing Jon his true parentage, depending on the relevance of this. GrrM has apparently said that Jon will find out who his mother is before he dies. The other reason is of course that Bran is the new three-eyed raven, but I read a theory that suggests he possibly won’t stay one, but rather he will beat Bloodraven (if Mr. Three-eye is BR ) at his own game by learning what he needs to know and then try to get away.

Isaac seems to be in the slight predicament that Kit sometimes finds himself in, in that they are trying to play characters that are way more complex and difficult to play realistically then people give them credit for.